Intactivism: Week in Review August 20, 2011

by Tally on August 20, 2011

Parents, protect your babies. Support intactivism. The following list includes blogs, articles, and websites of interest to Intactivists that were published in the past week. This is a running tally of the ones I found interesting.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

The WHOLE Network:Getting Back What was Lost: A Journey to Foreskin RestorationJames Mac writes about circumcision and his foreskin restoration. His is a common story. One that is repeated all too often in our circumcision culture. He does not like that he was circumcised as a child. He took matters in his own hands and restored his foreskin to regain some of what he lost.

Monday, August 15, 2011

The WHOLE Network:The Development of Foreskin Retraction in the Child & Adolescent
The foreskin of an intact (uncircumcised) baby boy is fused to the glans. The foreskin remains attached to the glans for several years. For some boys, the foreskin does not retract naturally until his early- to mid-teens. Care-givers and healthcare providers must be careful to avoid premature retraction of the foreskin, which is contrary to medical recommendations, painful, traumatic, tears the attachment points (synechiae), may cause infection, is likely to generate medico-legal problems, and may cause paraphimosis, with the tight foreskin acting like a tourniquet. The first person to retract the boy’s foreskin should be the boy himself.

Hub Pages:Why do people object to infant circumcision?
An intactivist responds to a question about why male infant circumcision is a bad thing. Most problems suffered by intact boys come from forcibly retracting a boy's foreskin before it detaches from the glans and/or not teaching an intact boy how to properly clean his genitals. Luckily more and more people are becoming educated on the benefits of leaving their sons intact, so the circ rate is dropping.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

The Conversation:‘Unethical and harmful’: the case against circumcising baby boys
For centuries, children have been subjected to cultural and medicalised practices that were ultimately proven harmful and a violation of basic bodily integrity. Such practices have included foot binding, forehead flattening, scarification and genital cutting. Today, there is increasing awareness that infant male circumcision – once deemed a “parental choice” – is really an unnecessary, irreversible and harmful bodily modification.

TinyNibbles Violet Blue:Open Source Sex:New Studies: Male Circumcision and Female Orgasm Brain Mapping
A report of a recent study that showed circumcised men have more sexual problems than uncircumcised or intact men. "Circumcised men were three times more likely than uncircumcised men to experience frequent orgasm difficulties which, according to an international expert panel, are either psychogenic or due to reduced penile sensitivity."

Choose Intact:Truth and Loaded Words
A plea for intactivists to be more pursuasive when discussing the harms of circumcision. Sure, an argument can be made that infant circumcision is a rape, but few are likely to be pursuaded by such an argument. It would be better to not blame someone for a child's circumcision. Instead, education of what circumcision is and how it affects infants and the men they grow up to be are likely to be more pursuasive than using inflammatory language.

ERIC:Tight Extreme Painful Erections From Circumcision
A man shares his experience with tight erections. His infant circumcision was so tight that the shaft skin on his penis tore when he got an erection at age 12. OUCH! His shaft skin has torn a total of 4 times from his tight erections. This man needs to start restoring his foreskin to get some slack skin. Foreskin restoration has helped my tight erections a lot.

Enlightened Male 2000:Circumcision From a Jewish Perspective
A growing number of people are coming down on the side against circumcision. A growing number of men do not like that they were circumcised. A growing number of Jewish people, many of whom were circumcised on the 8th day, are speaking out against male infant circumcision.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Should I circumcise?:Care of the Intact Male
Rule # 1: Leave your baby son's penis alone.
Rule # 2: If you are confused about something, please refer back to rule #1.
A father discusses his intact son. He chose to leave his son whole when he was born even though he was circumcised at birth. His son has no problems being intact.

Salem-News:'Unethical and Harmful': the Case Against Circumcising Baby Boys
Dozens of case studies describe severe complications, including penile amputations and death; several infant deaths have been reported in the past few years. Professor Ryan McAllister provides medical information about male infant circumcision.

Religious Child Maltreatment:Circumcision Ban Does Not Go Far Enough
Only in extremely rare instances is male circumcision medically necessary. This explains why no major medical organization advocates for routine male circumcision. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), “Existing scientific evidence demonstrates potential medical benefits of newborn male circumcision; however, these data are not sufficient to recommend routine neonatal circumcision.”

Friday, August 19, 2011

Healthadel:Male Circumcision – Medical and Religious Facts
Male infant circumcision has no reason to be for infants. There is no medical indication that requires infant circumcision. Infant circumcision can result in bleeding and infection. There is no evidence that male infant circumcision reduced cancer.

National Post:Circumcision: ‘Mutilation’ or an ‘act of love’?Beyond the Bris is a blog by a Jewish woman who believes that male infant circumcision, the Bris Milah, is an outdated ritual. She did not circumcise her son and advocates for genital integrity for all children, boys and girls. Many Jewish parents are opting for Brit Shalom or ‘covenant of peace’ and which is similar to the baby-naming ceremony for infant girls.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

The WHOLE Network:Infant Circumcision with Anesthesia: Does It Really Help the Pain?
A large majority of routine infant circumcisions are not performed with any anesthetic. Some doctors use EMLA cream as an anesthetic. Not only is EMLA cream less effective than a lidocaine injection, but one manufacturer's insert warns against its use on infants and on the genitals of children.

Natural Family Today:6 Facts About Circumcision
Six reasons male infant circumcision is a bad idea. Medical circumcision is not at all like traditional circumcision. The AAP does not recommend infant circumcision. A circumcised penis is not cleaner nor more popular. Circumcision is painful for the baby and is surgery with risks.

Who is this guy?

Restoring Tally is just an ordinary guy who had to confront his prostate and circumcision problems. This site chronicles his journey in dealing with these issues. He has had prostate surgery and he is restoring his foreskin.